What Do We Know About Reported Tottenham Target and PSG Starlet Wilfried Kanga?
Tottenham are hunting far and wide for a new forward this summer.
According to Lyall Thomas of SkySports.com and Chris Wheatley of Goal.com respectively, AZ Alkmaar's Vincent Janssen and FC Basel's Breel Embolo are on the team's radar. Marseille's Michy Batshuayi and even Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan are also among Spurs' targets, as reported by Geoff Sweet of the Sun and Rhys Turrell of the Daily Star respectively.
Now, though, Spurs have reportedly offered a contract to little-known Paris Saint-Germain academy product Wilfried Kanga.
"Tottenham have offered contract to striker Wilfried Kanga. PSG youth graduate, 18, also wanted by Benfica, is free agent (France Football)
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) June 15, 2016"
France Football revealed that Kanga, who will become a free agent when his "contrat aspirant" (youth/development contract) expires next month, is in contact with Spurs as well as Benfica and a number of Ligue 1 clubs.
According to Richard Arrowsmith of the MailOnline, Spurs snapped up Ebbsfleet United's Shilow Tracey in the January transfer window with an eye to developing him in the academy sides, but that does not appear to be the case with Kanga.
Their interest in Kanga was reported by France Football (h/t CanalSupporters.com, article in French) as far back as April.
Jean-Luc D of Foot Sur 7 (in French) suggested that Tottenham lead in the pursuit of the Ivory Coast youth international because of Mauricio Pochettino's assurance that he will be part of the first-team squad immediately.
The same report says PSG have offered Kanga, who joined the club as an 11-year-old, a professional deal but were reluctant to make comparable assurances of first-team chances.
Kanga is considered one of the three jewels of PSG's academy alongside Odsonne Edouard and Jonathan Ikone, both of whom are expected to remain with the club next season.
France Football also reported recently that Kanga has been approached by the Ivory Coast Football Federation to make his senior debut for the Elephants (h/t Afrik-Foot, in French), which would raise his profile significantly. They have long recognised his quality, calling him up for under-20 internationals before his 18th birthday.
The now 18-year-old is yet to make his senior debut but scored nine times in 18 appearances for Les Parisiens' under-19s team last season and scored twice in their 2015 Aspire Cup triumph, with one of his goals coming against Arsenal's development side.
He also scored in a 5-1 hammering of Liverpool in the annual Otten Cup Youth Tournament.
The most famous goal Kanga has scored in his young career came against Real Madrid in the UEFA Youth League. Little can be discerned of his quality from the video, which can be found on YouTube, other than his wicked pace.
He also made a 19-minute cameo in the final of that tournament, a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Described by France Football as a "versatile attacker," Kanga has played across the forward line for PSG's youth teams. He is also considered two-footed, although his dominant foot is the right.
That tactical flexibility will please Mauricio Pochettino, a manager who demands his forwards be capable in multiple roles.
He is strong in the air, too, having scored numerous headers for Les Parisiens in youth competitions. He stands over six feet tall and, still 18, has likely not finished growing.
Kanga comes from Montreuil, a suburb just outside Paris' famous Peripherique ring road once dedicated to peach-growing. It was the home of former Leeds midfielder Olivier Dacourt and Newcastle defensive midfielder Mehdi Abeid.
It is also the birthplace of 13th-century architect Pierre de Montreuil, one of the builders of the Notre Dame cathedral in the centre of the French capital.
Pochettino is also looking to build his team and, tortured metaphors aside, Kanga would be a fine addition to his squad.
The French-born Ivorian has the physical tools to be a success and, having spent much of his life at the Camp des Loges, has the potential to develop into a top-class forward.
Kanga is unlikely to be the only addition to Tottenham's strike force this summer, but he would provide added competition for a place on the bench for the likes of Clinton N'jie and Heung-Min Son. Given that he would be arriving on a free transfer, Spurs take almost no risk with such a signing and may strike gold.
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